Magazine for safety razors



' Sept. 11,1945.

N, TESTl 2,384,503

MAGAZINE FOR SAFETY RAZORS Filed Dec. 3, 1942 blade.

Patented Sept. 11, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAGAZINE FOR SAFETY RAZORS Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application December 3, 1942, Serial No. 467,710

9 Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors and consists in an improved blade magazine and in a new and improved magazine-razor combination.

It has been found that in blade magazines as heretofore constructed the user is likely on occasions accidentally to operate the blade-feeding device so that a blade is inadvertently ejected or partially ejected with danger to the user or damage to itself. This is because in magazines as heretofore constructed there is nothing to prevent ejection of a blade whenever the feeder is operated and no means of preventing operation of the feeder at any time.

One object of the present invention is to provide a blade magazine having means for preventing or retarding ejection of a blade at all times except when the user takes definite action to clear the blade exit passage. It is proposed further to safeguard the user by arranging mechanism for that purpose to be operated only from a location in which the users fingers are necessarily located at a safe distance from the ejected To this end an important feature of the invention consists in a stop or gate normally standing in the delivery path of the blade and having an operating portion located beneath the magazine. Accordingly, in order to move the stop to an inoperative position the user must grasp the operating portion thereof beneath the magazine where his fingers are entirely remote from the blade as it is released.

Another object of my invention is to provide a magazine and blade combination in which the magazine is provided with a blade stop or gate having an operating device arranged to be engaged and actuated by a part of the safety razor with which the magazine is to be used. In this connection another feature of the invention consists in a magazine having a blade stop with a releasing portion partially enclosed in the magazine and arranged to be operated only by a portion of the safety razor head when the head and the magazine have been brought properly into interlocking or telescoping relation in readiness to supply a blade directly from the magazine to the razor.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the fol-- lowing description of two preferred embodiments thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the magazine of my invention, interlocked with ,a safety razor preparatory to transferring a blade from the magazine to the razor;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section on the plane II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a viewcorresponding to Fig. 1 in longitudinal section;

Figs. 4 and 5 are views inperspective of an empty hand-operated magazine as seen respectively from above and below;

Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section on the plane VI-VI of Fig. 7; and

Fig. '7 is a view in longitudinal section on the plane VIIV1I of Fig. 6.

The magazine illustrated in Figs. 1-3 comprises an elongated rectangular base plate H! of substantial thickness having a well ll formed therein of such shape as to receive the blades for which the magazine is intended. The base plate may be constructed of metal or molded of plastic material. A blade-locating rib l2 projects upwardly from the base plate in the longitudinal axis of the well II and this is supplemented at each end by spaced stops l3 and l l. The rib i2 is designed to fit the opening of a slotted safety razor blade and the stops I 3 and M to fit enlargements of the slot which are well known in commercial safety razor blades of the Gillette type. In the illustrative magazine herein shown the blades are intended to be stacked in staggered relation upon the rib l2, that is to say, the solid ends of certain blades lie beyond the stop [4 and the ends of the alternate blades within the stop IA. The blades may be open-ended as shown in my prior application Serial Number 461,70 2 or both ends may be solid as shown in my application Serial Number 331,847, now Patent No. 2,330,252, September 28, 1943, but whatever may be the shape of the blades, the staggered arrangement thereof in stack formation is desirable in that it facilitates accurate selection and feeding of one blade at a time from the magazine. I h

The base plate!!! is enclosed in an elongated shell or casing l5jof sheet metal. This casing may be permanentlyor'detachably connected to the base plate lllby spot welding or any other convenient means. Its upper wall comprises a pair of inturned horizontal flanges l6 and I! which are spaced apart so as to expose the central portion of the uppermost blade 18 in the stack. Inwardly extending guide flanges H) are struck in the side walls of the casing for the purpose of guiding the safety razor into the proper position when the magazine and razor are interlocked. A blade feeder 20 is slidably engaged with the casing l5 and provided with an inwardly projecting flange for engaging the end of the uppermost blade l8 of the stack and advancing this blade when permitted to do so. The blade-engaging flange of the feeder moves in the space between the two flanges l and [5 of the casing. A bowed spring 22 located beneath the blade stack is effective at all times to lift the stack and hold the uppermost blade therein in yielding/contact with the flanges I 6 and I! of the casing; In that position, and unless prevented, the blade may be moved freely and longitudinally in either direction in the magazine, the flanges l6 and I1 defining the blade exit passages of the magazine.

The base plate In is provided in its bottom and 1 end faces with a longitudinal groove or channel to receive a flat spring member 2|. This spring is held in place in the base plate by the enclosing casing and extends upwardly and inwardly about each end of the base plate l0. It

is provided at each of its free ends with a vertically disposed stop or gate 23 normally projecting upwardly across the path of the blade uppermost in the blade stack. The intermediate portion of the spring between each end of the base plate In and the stop 23 is arranged at an inward and upward'inclination and may be depressed against spring tension by a wedging action of a part of the safety razor guard, so retracting the gate from the path of the blade to be ejected, as will presently appear. 7

The magazine above described is provided with visual indicators consisting of colored spots 24 and 25 arranged to be alternately covered by the feeder 20 and so to indicate from which end of themagazine the next blade should be delivered, the spots at the inoperative end of the magazine being temporarily covered by the feeder. v 7

One type of safety razor adapted to be used co-operatively with the magazine of my invention is illustrated in Figs. 1-3 and will now be described. It comprises a guard 30 carried at the upper end of the tubular handle 3!. Both the guard and the handle are bored to receive the spindle 32 of a cap member 33. The guard and cap have respectively convex and concave bladeclamping surfaces and the spindle 32 is provided with a rotatable nut 34 by which the cap and guard may be drawn forcibly into bladeclamping engagement or may be separated for the reception of a blade as shown in Figs. 1-3. The cap is provided with a pair of downwardly projecting guide pins 35 which slide in corresponding holes in the guard and maintain the cap and guard in alignment at all times. The guard is provided with ,a central undercut rib 36 arranged to receive a slotted open-ended blade and to hold the same in position upon the guard 30. of the guard 30 telescopically within its casin I5, the side edges of the guard being guided in the proper path by the guide flanges l9 above referred to. When this interlocking engagement is made, as indicated in Fig. 3, the underface of the guard 30 rides over the inclined intermediate portion of the spring 2| and accordingly wedges down and depresses the stop or gate 23 at that end of the magazine which faces toward the safety razor head. The stop 23 is thus retracted and carried completely below the path of the blade I8 which is then uppermost in the blade stack and the latter is accordingly free to be moved toward the left into the safety razor head under the actuation of the feeder 20.

The magazine illustrated in Figs. 4-7 is similar .to that above described except that it is constructed and arranged to be operated by hand rather than by engagement of the magazine with the safety razor head. Referring to these figures, the magazine is shown as comprising a rectangular base plate 4|] having a centrally disposed upstanding rib 42 and aligned blade stops 43 and 44 spaced from its respective ends and adapted to hold the blades of the stack in longitudinally staggered relation. A casing 45 of sheet metal of rectangular cross-section, as shown in Fig. 6, surrounds the base plate and may be permanently attached to it. The casing 45 is slightly longer than the base plate 40 and its upper wall is formed by a pair of spaced longitudinal flanges 46 and 41. As before, the flanges 46 and 41 define in part blade exit passages of the magazine at both ends of the magazine. A blade feeder 50 is mounted for longitudinal movement on the flanges 45 and 41 and extends beneath them sufliciently to engage the end of the uppermost blade 18 of the stack. The stack is elevated and the uppermost blade yieldingly held in contact with the flanges 46 and 41 by a forked underlying spring 5|, the latter being inserted between the blade stack and the upper face of the base plate 46. The flanges 46 and 41 are provided with end stops to limit the path of movement of the feeder between these flanges. As in the previous application the feeder 20 is arranged to eject alternate blades first from one end and then from the other end of the magazine.

The blade exit passage at each end of the magazine is closed and a positive stop provided spring 52 is provided at each end adjacent to The magazine is shaped to receive one end the gate 53 with a pair of oblique downwardly projecting finger pieces 54 spaced apart and diverging downwardly. Either pair may be grasped by the user and pulled downwardly away from the casing when he wishes to retract one of the gates 53 and permit delivery of a blade from the corresponding end of the magazine. It will be noted that these finger pieces 54 are located entirely below the bottom of the magazine casing so that in grasping them all the operators fingers are necessarily located beneath the magazine and completely out of range of the blade to be ejected.

When either gate has been retracted a blade may be fed from the corresponding end of the magazine. For example, when the right-hand gate 53, shown in Fig. 7, has been retracted the feeder 50 may be moved toward the right and the uppermost blade l8 delivered from the right-hand end of the magazine. The second blade in the stack is delivered from the left end of the magazine when the left-hand gate is de pressed.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail two illustrative embodiments thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1

1. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing for a blade stack having a top wall defining blade-exit passages at opposite ends of the casing, gates normally closing said passages, and spring means located within said casing constructed and arranged to be operated selectively for moving either gate to blade-releasing position independently of blade movement within said casing.

2. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure, an open-ended casing with a blade passage defined therein, a gate normally blocking said passage, and means connected to the gate and located Within one end of the casing for retracting the gate.

3. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an open-ended casing with a blade exit passage defined therein, a gate normally blocking said passage, and an inwardly inclined spring actuated member located within the casing and constructed and arranged to retract the gate by the wedging action of a safety razor part.

4. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing open at both ends to receive telescopically a safety razor and having blade exit passages opening substantially within the opposite ends of the casing, and a spring gate normally blocking each passage and presenting an inclined face in the path of a razor engaged in the casing.

5. A magazine for safety razor blades, having in combination, an elongated casing with a slotted upper wall, means for yieldingly holding a stack of blades against said upper wall, a blade feeder movable longitudinally in the slot from end-to-end, and a gate normally closing one end of the slot and being located substantially beneath the feeder when the feeder occupies its initial position at that end of the slot.

6, A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing having a blade-delivery opening at one end, means within the casing for holding a stack of sharp-edged blades, a feeding device movable in the casing for advancing one blade at a time from the stack, and a movable stop mounted in the casing and normally preventing outward movement of a blade through said opening and having an integral portion located in the casing out of the path of a blade delivered from said opening, said portion being constructed and arranged to be manipulated for retracting the said stop.

7. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing having a blade-exit passage, a blade-feeding device movable in the casing for advancing a blade out through the passage, a spring stop mounted in.

the casing and normally closing the passage to a blade, and means interconnected with the stop and located beneath the path of the blade for retracting said stop.

8. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing having spaced flanges for its top wall, means within the casing for pressing a stack of blades yieldingly against said flanges, a blade feeder movable between said flanges to engage and feed the uppermost blade of the stack, a movable gate located within the casing and having a blade-arresting face which stands substantially at right angles to the plane of said flanges in the space between them, and means interconnected with the gate and movable at one side of the path of the ejected blade for opening said gate before a blade is removed by the feeder from the stack.

9. A magazine for safety razor blades including in its structure an elongated casing having spaced flanges for its top wall, a blade locating rib spaced between said flanges for locating a blade stack, a blade feeder movable between said flanges and shaped to clear the rib, a blade stop located within the casing and in line with said rib and being movable into and out of the path of a blade advanced by said feeder, and means interconnected with the blade stop and movable at one side of the path of the ejected blade for retracting said stop to permit a blade to be advanced from the stack by the feeder.

NICHOLAS TES'I'I. 

